SDCC 2014: Face time with Hasbro on Legends and Infinite Lines

MakeMineMarvel Group Member Nathan Elliot got a chance to talk with Hasbro staffers about Marvel Toy Lines. Questions are from group members and Nathan. Thanks for sharing and grabbing this info!

Quote From Nathan

“Okay peeps, here’s the answers to your questions:

1. How many more “Avengers” themed waves ? and if/when they go the “X” direction… will we finally get a Northstar? – Russ Green, Avengers Tower

While they thought they were going in this general direction at the beginning of the Infinite line last year, it has turned out to be generally all over the place instead. They feel this is a better way for the line to cover all of the characters everyone wants.

2. With last year’s new MU Rhino, will Legends be getting any Rhino love any time soon? – Rick Imes Jr., Make Mine Marvel

No plans for a new Rhino at the moment, but it would be a character they’d definitely consider for any further Spider-Man waves of ML

X-Men. Hasbro made it sound like there are issues with licensing X-Men, and that their only option for releasing X-Men figures are waiting until a movie comes out and populating a wave with comic versions. That said, all of the previously talked about characters would be up for discussion for the next X-Men movieish wave. Deadpool is the least likely because he has been released, though in limited numbers. However, if Deadpool were to say, have a movie, that would change his odds significantly.

3. Will we ever get mu masterworks-sized figures or Bafs? – Curtis Johnson, Make Mine Marvel

Billy, the current lead designer of the MI line, answered. The large sizes were something that were super fun and definitely something they would want to do in the future, however, figuring out how to make it happen is a bit tricky. They’re hoping that the line continues to do strongly so that they can open it up to things like these. (But don’t expect the Orange Foom to come back).

4. Will we be seeing a wave 2 for spidey, Gotg, or cap 2? – Curtis Johnson, Make Mine Marvel

The 2015 Spidey wave is essentially a wave 2, but it won’t be branded that way. They hope to continue tie-in lines wherever they can.

5. How many waves are we getting for avengers 2? – Curtis Johnson, Make Mine Marvel

Most likely what you’ve seen at the convention now, but depending on how well things perform, there’s always a possibility for more.

6. Can we get a re issue of vision since he’s going to be in age of ultron? – Jason Everett Broce, Make Mine Marvel

Vision is offered as an option in the fan-vote happening now! Go vote! Go vote a million times! (We later found out that Vision was out voted by Gammora and Captain Marvel)

7. We haven’t seen any variants so far in the MU infinite series. Are there any on the horizion? If so, distribution is a bit of a concern. – Jason Everett Broce, Make Mine Marvel

They’ve largely been focusing on trying to get the new branding out, and haven’t had a lot of opportunities to put out variants, as much as they like them. (Two variants were shown in the panel a few hours later).

8. We’ve seen quite a few of those 3-pack characters make it to the Infinite line, so thank you for that! Do you have plans to continue so that we’ll eventually see Emma Frost, Juggulossus, Executioner, and Northstar? – Michael Favata, Make Mine Marvel

Several of these are in the future. (At the panel, they showed Juggulossus and Northstar as coming in 2015, but no news of Emma or Executioner).

9. 3.75″ Infinite series remain HARD to find at retail. Any insight as to why Walmart and Toys R Us aren’t carrying them? – Jason Everett Broce, Make Mine Marvel

All of the retail partners were interested in the Infinite line, and they all approached it differently. Hasbro can’t speak for how their retail customers choose to distribute their product, but they’re just as heartbroken as we are about not seeing their product absolutely everywhere. The sales and marketing teams are working very hard to keep these waves coming via retail, but online sellers and new retail opportunities like Walgreens look to be a collector’s best option in the near future.

10. Any chance of some fan-voted characters in the new infinite line? – Jason Everett Broce, Make Mine Marvel

Sure thing! Laura from the Marketing team came up with the idea to do the fan vote right before the panel. With all of the options available to do next, they wanted to get the opinions of the fans straight from the fans. They hope to continue that kind of thing in the future.

11. What happened to MU Series 5 #23? – John Magers, Make Mine Marvel

This question was not asked due to time constraints.

12. Some of the previous exclusives have eventually made it to retail in a different form. Are there any chances for last year’s Legends Luke Cage or this year’s Starlord to be seen again elsewhere? – Jason Everett Broce, Make Mine Marvel

This question was not asked due to time constraints.

There you have it folks. I did my best to paraphrase what was told to me over several different conversations, as the actual recording seems to have been lost in the root folders of my phone (if they could be heard even).

Thanks for helping me generate questions you were interested in, and I sincerely hope you were able to get answers you wanted. “